Toy boat



2 SheetsSheet 1.

(N0 Mbdel.)

G. A. GOODSON.

TOY BOAT.

No. 472,291; Patented Apr. 5, 1892.

2 Sheet;sSheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. A. GOODSON.

TOY BOAT.

No. 472,291. Patented Apr. 5; 1892.

r in position at the end of the stroke.

NITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

GEORGE A. GOODSON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

TOY BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,291, dated April 5,1892.

Application filed April 6, 1891. Serial No. 388,063. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. GooDsoN, acitizen of theDominion ofCanada, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ToyBoats; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an attractive and amusingtoy. To this end in a boat-like body equipped with oars I place thefigure of an oarsman and a propelling device adapted to impart to theoars motion similar to the action of rowing. Preferably I mount theboat-like body on wheels, the oarsman on a sliding seat, pivotallyconnect the arms of a figure to its body and the handles of the oar, andconstruct the propelling device of such form that it may be operated bya connection extending to the exterior of the boat within reach of anoperator, the relative arrangement of the different parts being such asto give a perfect imitation of an oarsman propelling asliding-seat boat.From the flexible connection the child or other operator may start theboat from any given point and .propel the same away from him by a seriesof strokes to an indefinite length by alternately pulling and slackingthe flexible connection.

My preferred construction is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,wherein, like letters referring to like parts throughout- Figure 1 is aside elevation of the toy, some parts being broken away, with theoarsman in position to begin his stroke. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical section with the oarsman Fig. 3 is a detail in cross-section onthe line X X of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail of the oar-lock and car, andFigs. 5 and 6 are plan views illustrative of the action of the toy wit-hreferenceto the position of the operator.

A represents the body of a miniature boat. 13 are wheels supporting thesame.

0 are the oar-locks in the form of vertical pivots-provided with oarstops or rests O, and D are the oars, each of which is provided with aninclined socket cl for engagement with the pivot-post O. Thisconstruction permits the oars to make their sweep at a uniform level.

E is the sliding seat, mounted on a runway E within the boat.

F is the figure of an oarsman mounted on the seat E and grasping thehandles of the oars. The arms are pivotally connected to the body of thefigure at the shoulder and are provided with fingers f, Working insockets d in the handles of the oars. These pivotal connections permitthe necessary swinging motion to the arms of the figure to enable it tofollow the motion of the oars.

G and H are a pair of pivoted detents or pawl-like brads carried by theboat and projectingfrom the bottom of the same. Of these detents G ismounted so as to have a sliding motion from and toward the other detentH, which is so mounted that it cannot slide. To effect the slidingmovement of the detent G, it is carried by a slide G, working on guidesg, secured to the underside of the boat. Both detents are so mountedthat their pivotal movement is limited in onedirection-namely, neitherof them can turn past the vertical line toward the forward end of theboat, but may turn freely in the other direction approximately to thehorizontalwhich construction permits them to engage with the floor orother support traversed by the toy against strain opposite to the lineof travel and allows them to slide freely over the floor when released.

K is a spring connecting the slide G with the body of the boat,preferably at some point near the pivoted detent H.

L is a flexible connection attached at the front end of the slide G,extending over a guide P, located on the front part of the boat andattached at its other end to the rear of the sliding seat E, and L is aflexible connection attached to the front of the seat and extendingthrough an eye it, carried by the detent H, and thence through avertical slot at in the rear end of the boat. This flexible connectionis preferably an ordinary cord and may be of any suitable length,according to the distance it is desired to propel the boat away from theoperator. The spring K is con- Veniently made of a strip of rubber.

Stops e are provided on the runway E to limit the movement and preventthe displacement of the sliding seat E. A cam Q is located on the bodyof the boat in position to strike the pivoted detent Gas the boat movesforward under the action of the spring and release the same from itsengagement with the floor.

The operation is as follows: The operator holding the cord L, as shownby the position of the hand R in Fig. 4c, polls on the same on astraight line or slightly downward toward the floor, causing the detentH to engage therewith and constitute a base of resistance to the springK. A continued pull will draw the seat backward and set the spring undertension and cause the sliding detent to move to its forward limit anddrop into its vertical position. 011 then releasing the string thesliding detent becomes the base of resistance to the action of thespring and the boat is thrown forward one stroke of the oars, the figureretreating therewith into the position shown in Fig. 2. The first strainapplied to the string gives to the figure and the oars the motion ofrecovery, putting the figure into position for the stroke of the oars,and the impulse given to the boat by the spring imparts to the oarsmanand oars the action of the stroke. To the eye the oarsma-n seems to bepropelling the boat. The action is very life-like and in perfect imitation in all respects to the propulsion of a boat by an oarsman in aboat having a sliding seat. After the boat has been propelled in themanner described to the end of the string or other limit it may bewithdrawn or retracted to its original or starting position near theoperator by simply lifting the string and drawing on the same at aslight angle above the horizontal level, which will lift the detent H,so that it will not engage with the floor. The boat is thus entirelyunder control of the operator, to be manipulated as he may see fitwithout shifting his position.

It will of course be understood that a more or less amusing toy havingthe appearance of a boat moving under the action of an oarsman might bemade without all the refinements shown in my preferred construction,hereinbefore described. The figure, for example, might be stationary, inimitation of an oarsman in a boat having a stationary seat, and the armsof the figure and the oars could still be so constructed as to imitatethe rowing action. The boat-like body,instead of being mounted on thewheels, as shown, might be mounted on runners, and the other parts beingas shown and described, the toy would work equally well, so faras theimitative features are concerned, but would be much more logy. Otherforms of propelling devices might be substituted for the spring anddetents, so long as the same are controllable from the exterior of theboat, or the propelling device might be omitted entirely, so far as theboat-body is concerned, and a rowing motion be given to the figure andoars from a crank-axle on the wheels when the boat is pulled forward byhand. All of these substitute constructions, however, would becomparatively unattractive and deficient in life'like action. It willalso be un derstood that the propelling device herein shown as appliedto a boat might equally well be applied to propel any other ob ect withan intermittent motion.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as follows:

1. The combination, with a movable body, of a pair of detents carriedthereby, one of which is mounted to slide from and toward the other, aspring connecting the sliding detent with the body, and a connectionfrom the sliding detent extending to the exterior of the body,therelative arrangement of the parts being such thatthe detents may be madeto engage in succession with the floor or other support traversedthereby to shift the base of resistance of the spring from one detent tothe other, whereby the spring may be made to impel the body,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a movable body, of a pair of pivoted detentscarried thereby, one of which is mounted to slide from and toward theother, a spring connecting the sliding detent with said body, aconnection from the sliding detent to the exterior of the body formoving said detent and setting the spring, and stops for limiting themovement of the detents in one direction, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. The combination, with a movable body, of a sliding pivoted detent anda non-sliding pivoted detent, both carried by the said body, a springconnecting the sliding detent with the body, and a flexible connectionpassing from the sliding detent over a suitable guide and thence to theexterior of the body for operating the detents and spring to propel thebody, substantially as described.

4.. The combination, with a movable body, of a sliding pivoted detentand a non-sliding pivoted detent, both carried by the said body, aspring connecting the sliding detent with the body, a flexibleconnection passing from the sliding detent over a guide on the body andthence through an eye 011 the non-sliding detent to the exterior of thebody, whereby the body may be both propelled and retracted at will.

5. A toy comprising the boat-like body, the sliding seat, and slidingdetent moving parallel with each other in reverse order, the flexibleconnection from the seat to the detent over a suitable guide, thenon-sliding pivoted detent on the boat, the flexible connection from theseat to the exterior of the boat, and the spring connecting the slidingdetent with the boat-body, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

6. The combination,with the boat-like body, of the sliding pivoteddetent, the non-sliding pivoted deten t, the spring connecting thesliding detent with the boat-body, and the flexible connection passingfirst forward from the IIO sliding detent over a guide, then backthrough an eye on the non-sliding detent, and thence through a verticalslot at the rear of the boat, whereby the line of strain may be shiftedto different levels to propel or retract the boat at will.

7. The combination, with the boat-body A, provided with the slot at, thesliding seat E, the slide G',,carrying the pivoted detent G, the pivotednon sliding detent H, provided with the eye h, the guide P, the cam Q,the spring K, and the flexible connections L L, arranged and operatingsubstantially as described.

8. The combination, With a movable body provided with a non-slidingdetent, of a detent-carrying slide mounted on the body, a

pivoted detent on the slide engageable with the floor, aspringconnecting said slide to the body, adapted to be set by the movement ofthe slide to impel the body against the sllding detent as a base ofresistance, a cam on the body adapted to trip the said detent, and aflexible connection extending from the sliding detent to the exterior ofthe body for moving the sliding detent and setting the spring againstthe resistance of the non-sliding detent.

Intestilnony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE A. GOODSON. Witnesses:

E. F. ELMORE, J AS. F. WILLIAMSON.

